Delinquency and social changes in United Arab Emirates: a comparison study between delinquent males and females on the family functioning questionnaire.

The purpose of this study was to specify descriptive elements of juvenile delinquents in United Arab Emirates (UAE); a comparison between male and female young offenders was also conducted using the Family Functioning Questionnaire (FFQ). The results revealed that some of the characteristics of young offenders were: school dropouts, had parents with no or some elementary education, lived in the city, and came from low income families. The statistical analysis revealed that there were significant differences between males and females on the FFQ subscales. That is, there was a differential treatment of male and female delinquents in the UAE society. Suggestions, implications and limitations for the potential use of the results reported in this study are also discussed.